I'm doing some research on what laptop to buy, one of the biggest factors is how long the laptop last, since some of the components you can't really repair them cheaply.. (a broken keyboard.. LCD spoiled and such)

Among the brands, which one is the best?

Do share your comments on especially their customer support, how long till a component spoil on you, which component broke first.

remember, this is regardless of design of the laptop.

But if a plastic or something falls out, that's considered not long lasting.

Added IBM and Acer and BenQ

I vote IBM
Design may not the best, but im sure their build are far more better then normal lappy!

Come on la TS, your question is so subjective. Lifespan can depends on how the user take care of the lappie, models/batch of a specific brand, either 3rd party battery is used etc. If the user is rough, a titanium laptop can't last too.

I couldn't agreed more

voted toshiba bcoz d interior design plus inside hardware is from outside manufacturer n stable oso

IBM ThinkPad rocks !!!

opps...another potential xxx vs yyy vs zzz brands fanboyz thread

i've never owned one,but the salesman over at the IBM booth i dropped by once played quite rough with an IBM thinkpad..

i wouldnt dream of holding my HP by the lcd and shaking the thing

but so far i've used a compaq,works fine for about 3 years or so..
the paint is starting to wear off(especially the place where you put your palms while typing) but the components are working very well.
much better than my desktop,and the compaq has got more bruises than it!(desktop)

wah!...you got so many options to choose...
best to ask for it's pros and cons....or depends on your budget...
if it really help you...guess will join the vote...
support Dell for it's superb customer services...some more the options to customize on your notebook...the offer a 24/7 phone assistance for XPS users...really cool...
learned lots of new things from them...

long lasting?
i dunno

but i voted dell for their after sell service althought i m usin hp

cool...

IBM for my vote.
and,another,COMPAQ HP

compaq...ahahahaha...my speaker casing rust after 3month using..huhuuhh

i think older compaq.
newer compaq,i dunno.
but then,my early compaq (P3,worth rm11000),long lasting until now even drop from motorcycle at highspeed

wow!...you bought your previous notebook priced rm11,000?
erksss...really that strong?felt down from motorcycle at highspeed?...
wonder...what brand of motorcycles?is it BMW or Yamaha R1...

rm11000 for p3?
mind to take pic to show us?

Actually laptops don't have to last that long right? Say it's 5 years old, the laptop will already be outdated. From what I see, IBM laptops are the most durable ones but pricey and ugly design.
Just my 2 cents yo

IBM is ugly.. but lenovo ones look much better! at least got the curves...

r latest models of computers the most lasting n plz tell me what brand is best

Good point. well i mean regardless on the owner i mean..

What i'm looking for is the General Reputation.

Say forexample, i've heard from alot of friends that IBM makes excellent laptops, but extremely lousy designs.. that sort of thing.

I do agree with you that it really depends on how the user takes care of the laptop. But i mean.. on average.. if you were to take out 1000 Laptop from a certain brand. Which brand would have the most laptops spoilling within a year,
Assuming:

1. All laptops are treated equally
2. All laptops have the same spec
3. Price for each laptop is ignored.
4. Maintanence plans or warrenty plans are ignored also.

Something along this line

Bought an IBM R51e, last 2.5++ years ago.
Last Sept 2006 swap to an IBM R60 and pass down my R51e to my sister.

Guess what? R51e is almost 3 years and still running fine except keyboard need to change because some letters are missing.

Tried other brands before I think Toshiba should rank second in terms of durability and HP third.

This post has been edited by Nyxator: Mar 8 2007, 12:26 AM

i voted for IBM

as general knowledge, better capacitors and electronic parts will hv longer lifespan, hence better built quality will usually leads to long lasting

pass statistic already shows the defects of IBM will usually lower compare to other brand, which means their QC control is better

currently using thinkpad r60, it's a different experience from other brand so far. i torture it 24hours without cooling pad, open close lid more than 10 times a day, bring it around with less care, surprisingly it's lid and casing is still as good as the 1st day and it nvr heats up

Yeah i heard that IBMs are best in terms of "durability" too. Question thoguh, now that IBM is Lenovo, is there any diff in their product? or the "durability" is comprimised ?

although i voted for Dell, but i think IBM is the best.

IBM - more on Quality and Reliable, need to improve in design.
Dell - More on after sell services
HP - More on quality
Asus, Sony, Fujitsu - Stylish, cool, quality but expensive
BenQ - Not very sure...
Acer & Toshiba - haha, not to mention, cause got bad experience with it.

This post has been edited by hypercrazyd: Mar 8 2007, 09:37 AM

Normally people will vote what ever notebook they are using la..

I have been using IBM ThinkPad for 3 years plus and I would say IBM ThinkPad is great, the build is so solid. I take less care of my IBM ThinkPad and the condition is still good, there is no loose or crack in any part. Most importantly, IBM ThinkPad has great ventilation. My IBM ThinkPad never heat up even I have been switching it on for like 10 hours a day. The fan is so quiet that I hardly can hear the fan noise even I am in a very quiet room.

Three things I like IBM ThinkPad the most :
1) The legendary full size keyboard
2) The lid design
3) Great ventilation

My 3 years plus Fujitsu LifeBook is not functioning well anymore although I take good care of it. The lid started to crack, boot up becoming slower than before and most importantly, the fan's sound is getting louder and louder.

Currently im using acer, but i voted for dell, hehehe

My vote goes to IBM, as it was the last laptop that i used and the PC really served me well for nearly a year...

No. They are still hard like rock. Very heavy too but I guess that contributes to strength

IBM done a lot of testing and research about reliability. 1 of the main reason.

I support IBM too. My collegue just drag an IBM laptop by its power supply wire. After that, it will work normally.

I wouldn't give my full vote for any brand in perticular as for me as long as u know how to take care of yr stuff it wun let u down. I've seen 2 P3 laptops from Dell and IBM In which is more than 5 years old and it works perfectly.

u pay more then u get more quality dude...but b4 u pay, see my thread first..try looking ur best laptop there...,check my signature dude...all range laptop i sell....

i am using dell, and its kinda lasting already more than 8 years

hey, no macbook or ibook or macbookpro aa?

waaaa...which Dell's model that last with you for eight years...
you're really taking good care of the notebook...cool...
does it functions well up till now...how big?

wonder why...

all macbook/pro user are all in their own thread.

if you could identify the weakness of your notebook and overcome it, it would last long enough. e.g, overheating, buy coolpad.

for me, brand just a brand. i stick to my HP for now. i used have a HP dekstop and it last me for almost 10yrs (without upgrades) and now i just acquire HP notebook (abt a month) we'll see how long it can last.

all brand use same manufacturer (intel, amd, nvidia etc etc) rite? all made from taiwan?

I voted for IBM. Why no ppl vote for sony?

do updates us with your HP notebook conditions...
does all the computers are made from Taiwan?...supposed not..
there a some parts made from China and Japan right?

erksss...maybe because of the thread about the Sony sales rep...
people start to rethink about it performance...

i dunno, thats y i asked

can someone with this knowledge explain? basically all these brand (HP,Dell, Toshiba etc etc) they buy for example processors from intel or amd rite and GC from nvidia or ati or intel as well? they just assemble the parts or what?

where the part manufactured? China? Taiwan? i guess many electronics part manufactured there.

Wow, nobody seems to place any votes for Sony, Acer, or BenQ... Let me guess, like what unknown mentioned, Sony's reputation got tarnished by the sales rep thread...

But i suppose Acer and BenQ, who are both related, already have been known for sub-standard products that always break down, ya? Hehehe, looks like both of them are considered the "Protons" of computer!

If u say LOngest Lasting.. Like other forumer had mention, any laptop if u take a good care of it, it will last long... Even my Twinhead P1 266 mmx still with me . Talk about LONG LASTING. But of course when u said obselete, then it's something else. So u can't actually weight the poll in terms of the longest lasting pc. Too subjective in my opinion.

there are other brands that are not bad also. i saw one panasonic lappie in lyp (price RM10k ) alu case, u can slam the laptop and nothing happens to it. its built for those who want to go to rugged places.

currently my family use samsung x20 (cheap ma... ) no problems and quite cool temperature. it has got side air vents. did mpeg2 video capture on 100% battery with pinnacle v10.5, batt lasted me 2 hours.

IBM should be the most lasting in the sense that they are used in police cars in spore. i dun think the police wants their lappie to die half way in an operation rite

Bro, Use in police car is just peanuts..
They even use IBM on International Space Station (ISS) too

Refer to Wiki : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TORU_docking_system.jpg

I also dont think the astronaut or cosmonaut want their lappie to die half way when they trying to do their 'stuff' on space right?

ps. Try count how many ThinkPads they use there..

Cheers!

This post has been edited by V3000: Mar 27 2007, 09:38 PM

So far Dell serve me well ...

I'm been using D610 and my current D620 which is give me tiptop performance ...

.All the laptop builders surely will buy processor direct from manufacturer like Intel or AMD.
.Big player like Acer,Dell, HP ,IBM etc will buy chipset and request Nvidia /ATi manufacturer to assemble the graphic.
.For optical, u won't know what exactly which manufacturer from.This is because branded name will not want manufacturer printed manufacturer's name on it.The optical drive might be manufactured by Lite-on.Sony,Acer are just to name a few.
.Today, most parts are from China consider the cost and overhead is low.The competition of pricing switch those major players looking for the cheapest and low cost product but not too bad quality.

This post has been edited by laptopexpert: Mar 28 2007, 12:24 AM

Part are all same i guess, but how they design and how they build the machine lead to how durable and how long can the lappy last.

Not really can apply to all brand.
As far as I know ,Sony optical like cd-rom/dvd-rom manufactured by different Taiwan manufacturers.But I want tell your all here is Lite-on do manufactured for many branded and some might using by your now.
As you search from this site or other major site, you will aware that Lite-on used to bring in break-through latest technology.It is just they do not advertise massly.Maybe this is because they have to take care of many oem volume customers.

(Some optical might not manufactured by Lite-on,so some of them are quite sensitive drive like Sony ).

This post has been edited by laptopexpert: Mar 28 2007, 12:16 AM

from my experience arr..... dun buy a lappie with toshiba optical drive one. coz very sensitive and won't read some discs. they can be found in toshiba and dell lappie. so far i found all the TEAC optical drives have no problem and 1/3 of the price of toshiba drive should u need 1 to replace or upgrade. i think teac is from taiwan. not sure.

Few of the major OEMs build any of their notebooks nowadays. HP has barely had any manufacturing facilities since 2000 I think as it sources its notebooks from Compal, Quanta, Inventec, etc. These ODMs also manufactures for Dell, Acer, Sony, Apple, Toshiba and some Lenovos (all brand name OEMs), so don't be surprised if different branded notebooks are all produced in the same factory. When we talk about reliability or durability, it usually comes down to the design and build materials used in the notebooks. Business notebooks from Lenovo (Thinkpad), HP Compaq (nx/nc/nw) and Dell (Latitude, Precision) are known to have undergone rigorous testing procedures that guarantee the reliability and durability of components. Again, these models are regarded as premium models and usually carry a premium over their consumer counterparts.

It's not possible to determine which brand of laptop is the longest lasting because many brands have both premium models and budget ones. The budget models are usually not as durable or reliable as the premium models. If I were to choose, from experience, I'd say Thinkpads, HP's nx/nc/nw and Dell's Latitude/Precision have the best build quality and reliability. Coincidentally, it is no surprise that they're the most popular in the corporate environment. Toshiba's Tecra range used to be really good too, until they began to trim down their offerings with budget models like the A-series.

This post has been edited by chris_c28: Mar 28 2007, 01:04 AM

agree... those model is not same like the normal 1. u may c the spec is almost same with budget 1 but price is totally different, that's the prove..!!

Couse the meterial they use on premium model and the time they spend on R&D.. sure abit more expensive but what we get is peace of mind

Cheers!

me voted for IBM

Cheers to IBM supporter!

And why Sony and BenQ still got no vote? While Acer got 2 vote jo leh!!

This post has been edited by V3000: Apr 5 2007, 06:03 PM

either it is IBM or Toshiba heh i think

Dont left Fujitsu behind bro

i plan to get BenQ le ...but no votings here ..kinda scare o ..hehe

Just get whatever u like, dont trust this vote too much Soo many user on this forum and we get soo less vote! or maybe try google it before get it

Yup.. even though I voted IBM...

I recomended a Fujitsu to my sis coz the design was solid and no nonsense

I also think Toshiba laptops are robust ever since the 486 days...

Where is Apple? I'm not voting for anything exceot Apple laptops.

Apple die heart fans here

Hehe yep I'm an Apple fan, but I use windows too. YOu guys should really add Apple to the poll, their laptops have the apple logo in it, must respect.

keke! next time i go get Apple logo and stick on my lappy! Must respect ya!
Joking.. Ya must add Apply machine on the list also!
TS gone? can Mod edit?

Oh no the ones on the official Apple laptops can light up(and no it's white light not those ugly colors). Hmm Can I PM a mod to add Apple? Will he ban me?

The new cheapo Toshiba laptops, mainly the Satellites and Tecra A series feels cheap in comparison to what they use to make. The only good Toshiba notebooks are those they still make themselves such as the Portege and Tecra M and R series.

Doh, i dont think they will simply ban ppl.. if no 1 here then who wanna advertise on their site woah


Really sad to hear this.. couse their new model still very pricey le..

i think Fujitsu lor.... my brother first laptop also fujitsu use from starting college till graduate and use a couple of years working...till he bored with the laptop and sell it off and buy some other brands... ^___^ in my opinion Fujitsu is long lasting lor... from experience with both Brothers last time using Fujitsu laptop... now i'm also using Fujitsu Laptop as my first and hopefully last laptop...

Using dell now because it can customise the things i want so buy dell ...my choice stil IBM the lasting
be4 tat family member owns a tosiba laptop till now still working but kinda out of date jor...it is just pentium only...
before dell own a IBM laptop...it very lasting...working well...like 6 years old already...
by the way TS why no Gateway brand....i got friend own Gateway laptop 10 years jor stil working...he kind of Gateway fan wor...

Hear2... The new ones are manufactured in the Philippines, no more in Japan...

Seconded from personal experiance... Fujitsu C2200 + 3 drops from table height = nothing except a problematic fan (I'm blaming dust)...